Henriette Delille cause still in ‘holy holding pattern’

Archbishop Aymond gave the following report Jan. 30, the final day of  his ad limina trip to Rome with the Region 5 bishops. He was scheduled to return to New Orleans Feb. 1.

You met today with the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to ask about the progress toward the possible beatification of Venerable Henriette Delille. A miracle is being investigated by doctors connected with the congregation. What did you find out from the congregation?

They gave us an update. We know these medical examinations usually take quite awhile. They have gotten one of the medical reports back, and they are still waiting for the second one. As you know, these things are very serious, and the church moves slowly on them, so I do not think, at this time, there would be any way of projecting any kind of date. I think we’re still in a “holy holding pattern.”

We can pray through the intercession of Mother Henriette Delille, and we will continue to do all that we can. Cardinal (Angelo) Amato, the prefect of the congregation, was very interested in the case, and he sees it as something that he hopes they will be able to move forward because it would be a significant blessing for the African-American community throughout the United States. So, there is great interest in the congregation, but they also have to go through the criteria and the steps in order to move toward her being named blessed.

Not speaking about her case in particular, but in general terms, the Vatican has to be sure that a healing cannot be explained medically.

That is correct. It has to be explained as a miracle. That was one of the difficulties as we heard recently with the (second miracle attributed to the intercession) of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos. The Vatican requires that after someone is healed of something that their life is expanded (at least) 10 years. The person was healed of the cancer but died (of an unrelated accident) about five years later. The Vatican is very thorough, very slow. They want to make sure that it can truly have no scientific explanation – so that it really is a miracle performed by God through the prayer and the intercession of the person for whom we are trying to attain sainthood.

This is your last official business in Rome. Could you wrap up how the trip went for you and hit on some of the highlights?

This morning we had two meetings. One was a meeting with the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, and we spoke about the new missal and how we in the United States are using it as a time of education and renewal. It seems to have been received well in other nations. The prefect of the congregation expressed gratitude to the bishops of the United States and said the way we had gone about this was really a model for other countries.

We also met with the Congregation for Catholic Education. We talked about the struggles with Catholic elementary and secondary schools because of financial matters. We talked about Catholic identity and governance. We talked about “Ex Corde Ecclesiae” and the mandatum.

The last thing we talked about were the seminaries, and, of course, in the state of Louisiana we are blessed with St. Joseph Seminary College and Notre Dame Seminary Graduate School of Theology. They talked about the importance of priestly formation. They exhorted us to support our local seminaries. They mentioned to us how important it is to find excellent priests, religious and laity to serve in the seminaries, and they reminded us that we as bishops must be very attentive to not only overseeing the running of the seminaries but making sure we admit men who have the gifts and the charisms to discern well and ultimately, hopefully, to move on to priesthood.

We talked about the curriculum, seminary faculty and the importance of the quality of the seminary and also the four pillars of formation: human, spiritual, theological and pastoral.

The last thing we have (on the schedule) is a closing Mass at St. John Lateran, which is the pope’s basilica.

It’s been a very good week of dialogue, certainly for the bishops in Region 5. We’ve had the opportunity to get to know one another better, to talk both formally and informally with one another about the shared joys and benefits as well as the shared challenges and sometimes the disappointments we go through in our ministry. It’s been a good week, and it’s certainly been a whirlwind tour of a lot of the congregations.

The last time I came for the ad limina, we did not meet with quite as many congregations, but it’s been very informative. It’s helpful for a diocesan bishop to be able to see with a worldview and to be able to bring that back to his diocese. I find  just through meetings and discussions, I can say, “We’re doing that right. It’s really good. What a blessing that is.” Then you listen to other things and say, “Wait a minute, we need to relook at something. This is something we can do better.” Maybe you get a thought that hasn’t even occurred. It’s been a challenging week, and I think we’re all ready to get on a plane and come home and get back to some kind of a normal schedule.

When you come home, you’ll have a lot of paperwork on your desk, but was the trip worth it in terms of being able to be in Rome to get that perspective?

Yes. And, of course, the highlight is praying at the tomb of St. Peter, praying at the tomb of St. Paul, praying at the tomb of Blessed John Paul II and meeting with the Holy Father – being able to sit with him for over a half hour and talking about things that are going on in the church. Those were the highlights.

On your free day Tuesday in Rome, do you have anything planned? Will you be doing anything special?

Actually, I have a couple of meetings. Bishop Fabre and I, with a few other people, will be celebrating a Mass early in the morning over the remains of St. Peter in the Clementine Chapel. There is actually an altar built over his bones. We will celebrate Mass there. Father Nile Gross will join us for that. Then I have a couple of meetings, one with Catholic News Service. Then I’m hoping to see the gentleman again who’s in charge of the exhibit for John Paul II. Bishop Fabre and I have been talking about that since we’ve been here, and we have a few more questions and a few more suggestions. We want to try to meet with him and see if we can iron those things out while we’re still here in Rome so that we don’t have to do it over the phone.

Have a very safe trip back and thank you for all these updates.

You’re welcome. God’s blessing.